March 24th, 2026
Most of this release was engine work: the kind of stuff that makes the app faster and more reliable without changing what you see. But there are a few things worth knowing about.
We're testing a new way to surface recommendations: one that looks at more about a product than just its name and tags. Unlike the previous approach, this works across all product categories, so this will improve recommendations for leather goods and clothing. We're rolling it out gradually over the next month while we monitor how useful it actually is. More to come.
Behind the scenes, jobs like photo processing and content updates now kick off within seconds instead of waiting up to a minute. You might notice photos and new content appearing faster after you or someone else makes a change.
Fixed a crash that could happen when uploading photos from certain apps (like WhatsApp) on iOS
Fixed a crash in the feed when certain items were in an unexpected state
Fixed a bug where notifications could fail silently for some users
Fixed photo upload hanging on Android
Fixed the country picker crashing on some screens
Fixed an Android UI glitch where the header shadow animation was off
We upgraded the core app framework (Expo SDK 52 β 55), which brings better performance on newer devices and keeps us current on security updates. Also upgraded the web frontend to Next.js 16 with React 19. None of this should be visible to you, but it sets us up well for what's coming.
Let us know your feedback or ideas in the Patina Project Discord.
Want to shape the future of Patina Project? The Request a feature tool is the best way to guide our roadmap.
Thank you for your continued support of Patina Project!
-Ted
October 5th, 2025
Fixed
We fixed a critical bug causing duplicate Thunderdome submissions to be saved after editing. We have cleaned up all reported duplicate photo issues. If you have duplicate photos in your album and would like us to remove them, please submit a support ticket here.
Note that Thunderdome photos cannot be deleted normally in order to maintain correct eligibility checks and prevent missing angles.
You can now select the Date first worn for items in the Pre-worn Thunderdome. You can edit this field by going to your item and pressing the pencil button in the upper-right corner:

Additionally, registering for the Pre-worn Thunderdome no longer incorrectly organizes old photos under Before first wear.
Countdown timer now correctly displays the window close time for completed photo submissions.
Username edits are now reflected immediately without restarting the app.
Photo thumbnails when sharing item links on web or Discord now appear again.
The Split size switch is now enabled correctly editing your Brannock size when a split-sized HTT or HTB is entered.
The correct photo now appears when selecting the last photo in an album.
Let us know your feedback or ideas in the Patina Project Discord.
Want to shape the future of Patina Project? The Request a feature and Vote on features tools are the best way to guide our roadmap.
Thank you for your continued support of Patina Project!
-Ted
September 19th, 2025
New
Improved
Fixed
The Order info section has been added, where you can add your item's price, availability, and lead time.
The Lead Time field now allows setting only an ordered date, to allow for items that have not yet been received.
All users: You can add these options to existing items by editing your item.
Thunderdome registrants: If you already registered your item, you can edit your item to add this information.
Belt owners can now add their length measurements. This can be used to track stretch over time and record fit notes.
Jacket owners can now select Clothing as a category. This will allow you to track top garment measurements, such as chest, shoulder, and sleeve length.
If you already registered your item, you can edit your item to select these new options. If you registered a leather jacket, we highly recommend switching to the Clothing category for the best experience.
Registrants can now add resole/relast history to their pre-worn footwear.
If you already registered your item, you can edit your item to ad this historical information.
Item top-level info now only shows the most important information at a glance.
Moved all badges to Awards tab.
The Background section has been renamed to Q&A.
Background section has been redesigned to follow a Q&A format.
Price, availability, and lead time have been moved to the main item form.
Price, availability, and lead time are now displayed under the Order info section in the Specs tab.
Searching for filters no longer shows empty results. S/O to JProof for reporting this bug!
Country can now be selected again. S/O to willisca for reporting this bug!
Seasons, progress tracking, and leaderboards have been retired to concentrate our development efforts on app functionality that more directly serves footwear and leather needs.
The historical leaderboard can be found in the settings menu under the More section.
Let us know your feedback or ideas in the Patina Project Discord.
Want to shape the future of Patina Project? The Request a feature and Vote on features tools are the best way to guide our roadmap.
Thank you for your continued support of Patina Project!
-Ted
September 15th, 2025
New
Improved
Fixed
Registration for the Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome is now open. The new Leather Goods and Pre-Worn editions have been added. Visit the registration page here.
Here's a full list of the new changes that arrived in Patina Project since the last changelog update in June 11.
Redesigned the Patina Thunderdome registration page.
Added Leather Goods and Pre-Worn editions to the Patina Thunderdome.
Profile pages for Makers and Models.
Added Tannery and Leather Type filters.
Leathers has been renamed to Leather Colors.
Profiles pages for Tanneries, Leather Types, and Leather Colors.
Browse pages for Makers, Models, Tanneries, and Leathers.
Added About sections to many makers and models.
Added feedback link to About sections.
Added many brands to Similar Products recommendations.
Web performance and visibility on Google Search.
Added colors for Horween Reverse Shell.
Added colors for Horween Olive Tanned.
Made C.F. Stead Spruce Kudu a Parkhurst exclusive.
Made C.F. Stead Storm Kudu a Grant Stone exclusive.
Topic URLs are now case-insensitive.
Fixed topic links with numbers and letters.
Stopped wrong thumbnails from being indexed to Google Images.
Fixed the currency field in Android. S/O to ZelieDad for reporting this bug!
Fixed a bug causing the Last to take the place of the Maker in titles and URLs.
Fixed updating the Brannock size. S/O to moznme for reporting this bug!
Let us know if you have any feedback or ideas in the Patina Project Discord.
Thank you for your continued support of Patina Project!
-Ted
June 11th, 2025
New
Fixed
Hello everyone,
In this message, I'd like to share our recently launched features and bug fixes for Patina Project.
Maker & Model profiles provide a comprehensive way to research boots and other leather goods.
Explore photos of how boots age and develop character through use
Learn community insights and owner experiences with specific models
Obtain purchasing information and availability
To access makers & models, navigate to the Search tab and locate the Start browsing section:

Browse our complete catalog of makers to discover familiar brands or explore crafters you may not have encountered before:

Select any maker to view detailed profile information:

iOS web: Resolved search bar interaction that previously caused unwanted zoom behavior.
iOS: Fixed scrolling functionality within the boards list during save operations.
We encourage you to share your feedback through the Patina Project Discord and report how these new features perform in your experience.
Leather profile pages are currently in the works, and we will continue to refine and enhance the platform based on community input.
Thank you for your continued support of Patina Project.
Ted Mader, Co-Founder & Maker of Patina Project
June 5th, 2025
Improved
Fixed
First, we would like to thank you for the many comments, thoughts and feedback we have received since Search 2.0 was released. We have been reading your feedback, and we are encouraged by it. We are also using the comments and feedback we have received to help us plan our future actions.
Here the latest improvements to your Patina Project experience based on your feedback:
Redesigned the Done button on the filter selection screen to stand out.
Going back after selecting filters now remembers your filter selection.
Filters are now intelligently suggested based on the current filter selection. For example, while the "Alden" filter is active, the leather list will prioritize leathers for Alden.
Searching or filtering will no longer display product links in the photo grid if there are no matching photos.
Product links in the photo grid are now limited based on the number of photo results for a cleaner browsing experience.
Please share your feedback in the Patina Project Discord and let us know how the latest changes work for you.
We will continue to add new elements and content to make Patina Project even more enjoyable for all users through our free updates, while at the same time making further improvements and adjustments to the platform.
Thank you for your continued support for Patina Project.
Enjoy the boots!
Ted Mader, Co-Founder & Maker of Patina Project
June 3rd, 2025
Improved
Fixed
We made the following improvements to your Patina Project experience based on your feedback:
Improved the variety of boots in results when searching for photos.
Popular photos are now more likely to appear at the top of search results.
"CXL" and "Chromexcel" are now treated as synonyms when searching.
Fixed a bug causing some boots to not appear in search results.
Renamed Albums filter to Items to be consistent with other parts of the app.
Fixed the New item button at the bottom of the item selection list.
Added a header button to access the New item screen more easily.
Fixed a bug that prevented leaving the Comments screen after a notification was opened.
Review specs prompt now closes properly after submitting.
Android: Fixed a bug where the filter bar would disappear after selecting a filter.
Android: Fixed a bug that prevented input on many forms, including the sizing form.
We will do our best to ensure that you will enjoy the new search feature. Please share your feedback in the Patina Project Discord and let us know how it works for you.
Thank you for your continued support for Patina Project.
Enjoy the boots!
Ted Mader, Co-Founder & Maker of Patina Project
June 1st, 2025
New
Improved
Hello everyone! This is Ted Mader, the maker of Patina Project.
Thank you so much for being a part of the Patina Project community.
In this message, I'd like to take a moment to run through some of our recent changes based on your feedback, including a few areas that have already been in the works.
When multi-photo posts have mixed orientations (portrait and landscape), we no longer crop the edges of photos. Instead, we now show blurred edges so you can see the full photos.

What problem are we solving?
The first version of Patina Project's search only showed you the latest photo of each pair. When we were getting started, this was much easier to build than letting you search through every single photo. However, it meant a lot of awesome pairs get missed unless you take the time to go in-and-out of each album. We want to start surfacing the best and most helpful photos, so this new version brings all photos to your search results.
Key changes in Search 2.0
All photos now appear in search resultsβno need to enter albums to find the best photos. Once you stumble on an interesting pair, you can drill down into the album to see more photos of that pair.
In addition to photos, you can now search for reviews.
You can now select more than one filter of the same type. Try searching for more than one leather at a time.
Search results are more accurate, which should reduce the need for filtering.

You can still search the old way using the "Items" filter:

Here is the brand-new review search in action:

In future updates, we'll continue to improve the quality of search results, including adding a methodology to prioritize the "top" photos while respecting your search keywords. Your feedback will help us shape search on Patina Project to be as useful as possible!
Your feeback is needed!
Let us know how your search experience goes in the Patina Project Discord. We want to keep improving search to be simple to use and get you to the footwear information you need.
We're bringing dedicated pages for makers and models to Patina Project. These pages contain everything you need to know about a maker/model: what it looks like, what owners are saying, and where to buy it. We'll be slowly rolling these out for every brand and model. You can view previews of the new maker and model pages here:


Fixed Sign in with Facebook.
Fixed a bug causing the "who reacted" list to be empty.
Added "Read More" button to make it more clear when text is expandable.
Improved contrast of buttons and text.
Removed Google Ads and removed tracking permission request.
To reserve room for maker/model/leather pages, user profile pages are now officially at patinaproject.com/users/, but patinaproject.com/ links will continue to work.
Thank you for your continued support for Patina Project.Enjoy the boots!Ted Mader, Co-Founder & Maker of Patina Project
April 24th, 2025
New
Thunderdome People's Choice voting is liveβit's your turn to be the judge!
Eligibility: Any signed-in Patina Project user can vote for as many pairs as they wish in both the Work and Open Categories. (You can't vote for your own pair though).
Voting Period: Voting kicks off today and wraps up at 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, April 27.
Accessing the Vote: If the voting flow isn't visible, try closing and reopening the Patina Project app.β
Work Dome Champion: Earns a bespoke pair from Nicks Boots. Huge thanks to Nicks for the generosity!
Open Dome Victor: Gets the unique opportunity (or challenge?) to collaborate with @stitchdown on designing a Stitchdown x Russell Moccasin x You production sample, tailored to your size.
March 7th, 2025
Fixed
We just released the following fixes:
Android: The new photo gallery now takes the full screen space.
iOS: The "More like this" section is no longer sometimes missing.
Web: The next photo button now correctly links to the next page.
Multi-photo posts are now limited to 20 photos each to prevent issues loading the feed. Groups larger than 20 photos will be displayed in separate posts.
Photo social buttons are now visible again.
Please report any additional findings to the Patina Project Discord.
Enjoy!
-Ted